Energy Consumption

Benchmark Guide:
Cement Clinker Production

Natural Resources Ressources naturelles

Canada Canada
Office of Energy Office de l’efficacité
Efficiency énergétique
 Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide:
Cement Clinker Production
Aussi disponible en français sous le titre :
Guide d’évaluation de la consommation d’énergie :
Production de ciment clinker

Cat. No.: M27-01-1464E

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2001
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Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide:
Cement Clinker Production
Industry Background
Cement is produced at 17 locations across Canada. The industry is
concentrated in Ontario and Quebec with 10 of the 17 plants oper-
ating in these two provinces. British Columbia and Alberta have three 1
and two plants, respectively. Single plants operate in Nova Scotia

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

and Newfoundland. Canadian cement clinker production capacity is
about 14.1 million tonnes per year. In 1998, clinker production
totalled 12 million tonnes for a capacity use of 85 percent.
With more than 1100 ready-mixed and other plants across the
country using Portland cement to make concrete, the industry employs
some 22 000 people and generates more than $3 billion in annual
sales. Almost one third of Canadian cement is exported.
The focus of this Guide is on energy used in the production of cement
clinker; unlike finished cement, all plants produce clinker.
Most of the energy information in this report was provided by the
Cement Association of Canada (formerly known as the Portland
Cement Association of Canada). The Association captured much of
the data from U.S. and Canadian Portland Cement Industry:
Plant Information Summary for 1998, the last year for which data
are available.
 Historical Energy Use Profile
The cement industry has long recognized that the cost of energy can
be significant, varying between 25 percent and 35 percent of total
direct costs. Consequently, the industry is continuously investigating
and adopting more energy-efficient technologies to improve its
profitability and competitiveness. In particular, plants have moved
steadily away from less energy - efficient wet process kilns toward
2 the more fuel-efficient dry process kilns. The number of wet process
kilns in production declined by more than 50 percent between 1990
and 1998. As of May 1999, only two wet kilns were still operating
in Canada.
The industry has achieved additional energy efficiency gains by
using preheaters and precalciners. These technologies have helped
the industry reduce its energy consumption per tonne of cement
by 30 percent since the mid-1970s.
The following table summarizes typical average fuel consumption for
three kiln technology types.

Kiln Type Average Fuel Consumption (GJ/t)

Wet Kilns 6.0

Dry Kilns –
Single-Stage Preheater 4.5
Dry Kilns –
Multi-Stage Preheater 3.6

Source: Holderbank, 1993. Present and Future Use of Energy in the Cement and Concrete
Industries in Canada. Prepared for EMR Canada, Ottawa.

Three dry process kilns have also been shut down during the
decade, but average kiln capacity has increased
by 34 percent, further contributing to gains in
energy efficiency.
Total Energy Use 1990 –1998
The next table shows total energy use, total clinker production and
energy use per tonne of clinker. In comparing the average for the first
three years of the decade (1990, 1991 and 1992) with the average
for the last three available data years (1996, 1997 and 1998) –
thereby levelling fluctuations in capacity use – some interesting
trends appear.
3
• The cement industry’s total energy demand increased

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

by 9.3 percent.
• Clinker production, however, rose by 26 percent.
• Therefore, energy use per tonne of clinker decreased
by 14 percent over the nine-year period.
These energy efficiency gains reflect continued technology improve-
ments (from wet process to dry process, including preheater/
precalciner additions), new installations and retrofits to increase
average kiln capacity, and continuous improvement in general
operating practices.

Clinker Production, Total and Average

Per-Unit Energy Use, 1990–1998

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

Total Energy
Use (TJ) 59 611 53 416 49 269 47 526 54 992
Clinker Production
(000 t) 10 509 8 604 8 655 8 822 10 395
GJ/t 5.67 6.21 5.69 5.39 5.29

1995 1996 1997 1998

Total Energy
Use (TJ) 60 551 57 533 57 411 62 400
Clinker Production
(000 t) 11 765 11 154 12 001 12 083
GJ/t 5.15 5.16 4.78 5.16
 Fuel Use Trends
As shown in the following two pie charts, the breakdown of
primary fuel use by type has not changed dramatically during the
1990s. In comparing the averages for the first three years of the
decade to the averages for the 1996 –1998 period, it is evident
that coal and natural gas have held their place as the dominant
fuels for generating process heat in the industry.
4

Figure 1. Clinker Production Fuel Use 1990–1992

Average

Electricity 11%
Coal 41%
Waste Fuels 2%
Heavy Fuel Oil 4%

Natural
Gas 27%

Coke 3%
Petro Coke 12%

Figure 2. Clinker Production Fuel Use 1996–1998

Average

Electricity 11%
Coal 41%
Waste Fuels 7%

HFO 4%

Natural
Gas 22%

Coke 1%
Petro Coke 13%
However, the share for natural gas decreased from 27 percent to
22 percent. This five-percent decline was mirrored by a five-percent
increase in the use of waste materials, including wood wastes, tires
and solvents.
Figure 3 shows annual fuel consumption annually from 1990 to
1998 and as an average for the first and last three years of the time
series by category. On closer inspection of the numbers behind these
percentage shares, the following trends have been observed: 5

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

• Total coal use increased by 13 percent.
• Total natural gas use declined by 10 percent.
• The use of waste as fuel increased by 170 percent.
• Total electricity use increased by seven percent.
• Total fossil fuel use declined by 18 percent, and electricity
use declined by 15 percent per unit of clinker.

Figure 3. Annual Fuel Use by Type 1990–1998 with Three-Year Averages

6
GJ/Tonnes of Clinker

0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Average Average
1990–1992 1996–1998
Fossil Fuels Electricity Waste Fuels
 The industry could reduce its dependence on fossil fuels even more
if legislative conditions and consumer perceptions would allow
increased use of waste fuels. Unfortunately, these major hurdles are
not easily jumped.
Figure 4 helps cement plants compare their own energy use to that
of other plants in the industry. The chart ranks individual plants from
the most efficient (1) to the least efficient (15). To position your plant
6 among the others in the industry, refer to your completed copy of the
“Canadian Labour and Energy Input Survey” for 1998, or complete
the table on page 10 with your most recent information to calculate
your plant’s per-unit energy use.

Figure 4. Energy Use Plant Ranking

6
GJ/Tonnes of Clinker

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
The energy use among the 15 plants depicted in Figure 4 varies from
a low of 3.68 to a high of 6.87 gigajoules per tonne of clinker. The
average energy use for the 15 plants is 4.69 GJ/t. But the average
for the four most energy-efficient plants (upper quartile) is only
4 GJ/t. In other words, there is a 15-percent difference between the
most efficient mills and the industry average. This significant
difference suggests that many plants have ample room for
energy efficiency improvements. 7
There are always extenuating circumstances and specific explana-

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

tions for the differences in energy use among individual companies
and plants – differences in raw resources, fuel types, kiln capacity,
technology and general operating practices, for example. Improving
energy use, however, is important to the industry and society, and it
deserves more attention.

Improvement Challenges and Achievements

The cement sector has set a target for energy intensity improvement
of 0.7 percent per year through the year 2000 (Canadian Industry
Program for Energy Conservation/Cement Association of Canada).
Although the industry is well on its way to surpassing this goal,
further improvements are possible and required as the industry
addresses its role and ongoing response to the evolving realities of
climate change.
The member companies of the Cement Association of Canada
have adopted a set of environmental principles, which re-dedicates
the industry to pursuing energy efficiency improvements. Following
are some recent examples of this continued dedication to energy
efficiency improvement.
 • Blue Circle Cement’s Bowmanville facility replaced the inlet fan
damper in its coal mill with a variable inlet vane damper. The
resulting reduction in power consumption saved the company
$75,000 in annual energy expenditures.
• Essroc Canada Inc. installed an electrical usage monitoring
system, which is helping the Picton, Ontario, plant identify and
improve its electrical energy use.
8 • Lafarge Canada has started up a new, energy-efficient dry kiln
at its Richmond, British Columbia, plant to replace two of its
older, energy-intensive wet kilns. Lafarge forecasts that energy
use per tonne of clinker will be reduced by half.
• Tilbury Cement Limited in Delta, British Columbia, has eliminat-
ed approximately six percent of its fossil fuel consumption by
recovering energy from waste oil and discarded tires.
Previous editions of the Canadian Industry Program for Energy
Conservation annual report list many more examples of recent
actions by industry members to conserve energy. There are also
various government programs available to companies – often at
little or no expense – to help identify and implement energy
efficiency improvements. For example, Natural Resources Canada’s
Office of Energy Efficiency offers programs ranging from workshops
on energy monitoring and tracking to on-site energy audits.
How to Benchmark Your Plant
1. Determine your plant’s energy use per tonne of clinker, by fuel
type. (See the table on page 10 for the calculation method if
these data are not readily available.)
2. Compare your plant’s per-tonne energy use with that of other
cement plants (See Figure 4).
3a. If your plant energy use is equal to or better than the top 9
four plants (upper quartile) you are an energy use innovator.

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

Keep it up by maintaining your energy monitoring program and
excellent operating practices.
b. If your plant energy use ranks between 5 and 11 on the
graph, your plant needs to invest more effort in determining how
to improve energy use.
c. If your plant energy use ranks between 12 and 15, your
plant is not as energy efficient as your competitors’ plants, for
many possible reasons. For example, raw resources with a high
moisture content, small capacity kilns and older technology will
all have a negative impact on your energy efficiency. It is likely
that such structural difficulties will be addressed only as your
plant modernizes its facilities and processes. In the meantime,
you should direct your efforts toward maintaining – and strength-
ening, where necessary – your plant’s operating practices to
avoid any unnecessary energy waste.
 Calculating Your Plant’s Energy Use
(Gigajoules per Tonne of Clinker)
To calculate your plant’s energy use per tonne of clinker and
determine its relative position as compared to the other plants in the
cement industry, complete the following table for your last full year
of operation.
10
Fuel Type Qty Used for Year __ Conversion Factor Total GJ for Year __
Gasoline (000 L) x 33.6 GJ/1000 L
Middle
Distillates (000 L) x 36.8 GJ/1000 L
Coal (tonnes) x 28.066 GJ/t
Residual
Oil (tonnes) x 40.387 GJ/t
Natural
Gas (000 m3) x 34.313 GJ/1000 m3
Petroleum
Coke (tonnes) x 32.701 GJ/t
LPG (000s of L) x 22.851 GJ/1000 L
Electricity (mWh) x 3.598 GJ/mWh
Waste Oil (000 L) x 34.0 GJ/1000 L
Waste Solvents (t) x 26.0 GJ/t
Waste –
Tire-Derived (t) x 27.0 GJ/t
Other Specified by respondent
GRAND TOTAL
Annual Clinker
Production (t)
Energy Use – GJ/t
Once you have completed the table and determined annual gross
energy use in gigajoules, divide it by the tonnes of clinker produced
in the year to yield gigajoules per tonne of clinker. You are now
ready to compare your energy use with others in the industry as
depicted in Figure 4 on page 6.

11

Energy Consumption Benchmark Guide: Cement Clinker Production

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